Sponsor speech Supports
Zali Steggall
Steggall supports the bill and says it is a practical way to stop misleading political advertising, including deep fakes and other deceptive claims.
Read in Hansard ↗Commonwealth Electoral Amendment (Voter Protections in Political Advertising)
Current status
This bill did not become law and is no longer proceeding.
Policy area
Government & democracy
What does this bill do?
Political ads and referendum adsCampaign material about a referendum question or proposal, which this bill would treat much like election advertising. would be banned if they make factual claims that are seriously misleading or likely to seriously mislead voters.
Why was it introduced?
A High CourtAustralia's top court, whose 1981 decision narrowed the old federal rule and created the gap this bill was meant to fix. ruling left federal electoral law covering only the mechanical act of casting a vote, exposing a gap where misleading political ads and impersonationPretending to be another candidate, party, campaigner, person, or organisation so voters think the message came from someone else. could shape voters’ preferences. This bill expands the law to ban materially misleading election and referendum claims and fake attributionPretending to be another candidate, party, campaigner, person, or organisation so voters think the message came from someone else., and lets the Electoral CommissionerThe federal election official who would be able to investigate complaints, require corrections or retractions, and take serious cases to court under this bill. investigate, order corrections and seek penalties.
Broader context
Federal electoral law already banned conduct that misled people about the act of casting a vote, but after the High CourtAustralia's top court, whose 1981 decision narrowed the old federal rule and created the gap this bill was meant to fix. confined that rule in 1981, misleading factual claims and fake attributionPretending to be another candidate, party, campaigner, person, or organisation so voters think the message came from someone else. in campaign material could still shape voters’ preferences without a matching federal ban. With misinformation and disinformation increasingly visible in political debate, including during the 2023 referendum campaign, this bill was introduced to close that gap by outlawing materially misleading election and referendum advertising and impersonationPretending to be another candidate, party, campaigner, person, or organisation so voters think the message came from someone else., but it was later removed from the Notice PaperThe parliamentary list of bills and business to be considered; being removed from it meant this bill stopped progressing. in July 2024 without passing.
Key criticism
No significant public case against the bill is recorded so far, and the available debate material instead frames it as a targeted response to false factual claims and impersonationPretending to be another candidate, party, campaigner, person, or organisation so voters think the message came from someone else. in political advertising. in publicly available sources reviewed, no party represented in the debate opposed the bill, so any unresolved concerns are not clearly developed beyond ordinary implementation and enforcement questions.
Who supported it?
Zali Steggall MPAn elected federal politician; the bill's explanatory material identifies Zali Steggall as an MP. introduced this bill. Speeches supporting it came from some crossbench members.
Introduced in House 13 Nov 2023
Failed in House 02 July 2024
Did not reach Senate —
Did not become law —
Did it become law?
No
The bill did not complete passage through Parliament.
Final passage
No final passage
The bill has not completed passage and is no longer proceeding.
Time before failure
232 days
From introduction to the final recorded step before the bill stopped proceeding
Meaning
What does this bill do?
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Political ads and referendum adsCampaign material about a referendum question or proposal, which this bill would treat much like election advertising. would be banned if they make factual claims that are seriously misleading or likely to seriously mislead voters.
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Political campaign material would be banned from pretending to come from another candidate, party, campaigner or person, including fake attributionPretending to be another candidate, party, campaigner, person, or organisation so voters think the message came from someone else. and impersonationPretending to be another candidate, party, campaigner, person, or organisation so voters think the message came from someone else..
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The Australian Electoral CommissionerThe federal election official who would be able to investigate complaints, require corrections or retractions, and take serious cases to court under this bill. would be able to investigate suspected breaches, order retractions, publish corrections, and take matters to court, while weak or abusive complaints could be thrown out.
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People and companies that publish false or misleading election information could face criminal fines, with higher maximum penalties for companies.
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The rules would apply between elections as well as during campaigns, so misleading political material could be targeted before and after writsThe formal election notices that start the legal election period; the bill is described as applying before and after they are issued. are issued.
Show source excerpts
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The Bill prohibits electoral or referendum matter that contains a statement in relation to a matter of fact that is misleading or deceptive to a material extent; or is likely to mislead or deceive to a material extent.
Commonwealth Electoral Amendment (Voter Protections in Political Advertising) explanatory memorandum -
The Bill also prohibits persons or bodies corporate from deceptively impersonating, or falsely attributing material to, a person, candidate, campaigner, party, or entity.
Commonwealth Electoral Amendment (Voter Protections in Political Advertising) explanatory memorandum -
The Bill invests the Electoral Commissioner with the power to investigate possible breaches, order retractions, publish corrections, and pursue a complaint through the courts. The Bill also allows a person to refer a possible breach to the Electoral Commissioner and the courts, but provides that any application that is frivolous, vexatious, misconceived, or lacking in substance may be dismissed.
Commonwealth Electoral Amendment (Voter Protections in Political Advertising) explanatory memorandum -
A natural person found to commit an offence may receive a maximum pecuniary penalty of 50 penalty units. A body corporate found to commit an offence may receive a maximum pecuniary penalty of 250 penalty units, as per s 4B(3) of the Commonwealth Crimes Act 1914.
Commonwealth Electoral Amendment (Voter Protections in Political Advertising) explanatory memorandum -
The Bill applies at all times. The harms of misleading or deceptive electoral or referendum matter are not limited to election campaigns; rather, they can occur before and after writs are issued. The Bill therefore covers the entire period between elections or referenda. This is necessary to effectively protect the election information environment from misinformation and disinformation.
Commonwealth Electoral Amendment (Voter Protections in Political Advertising) explanatory memorandum
Context
Broader context for this bill
Federal electoral law already banned conduct that misled people about the act of casting a vote, but after the High CourtAustralia's top court, whose 1981 decision narrowed the old federal rule and created the gap this bill was meant to fix. confined that rule in 1981, misleading factual claims and fake attributionPretending to be another candidate, party, campaigner, person, or organisation so voters think the message came from someone else. in campaign material could still shape voters’ preferences without a matching federal ban. With misinformation and disinformation increasingly visible in political debate, including during the 2023 referendum campaign, this bill was introduced to close that gap by outlawing materially misleading election and referendum advertising and impersonationPretending to be another candidate, party, campaigner, person, or organisation so voters think the message came from someone else., but it was later removed from the Notice PaperThe parliamentary list of bills and business to be considered; being removed from it meant this bill stopped progressing. in July 2024 without passing.
- 1981
High CourtAustralia's top court, whose 1981 decision narrowed the old federal rule and created the gap this bill was meant to fix. limits the federal ban on misleading voting material
The explanatory memorandum says Evans v Crichton-Browne confined section 329 to the mechanical act of casting a vote, leaving preference-shaping political claims outside the existing federal rule.
Commonwealth Electoral Amendment (Voter Protections in Political Advertising) explanatory memorandum ↗ - 2023
Referendum debate sharpens concern about false political advertising
Supporters said the 2023 referendum debate showed how lies and fear campaigns could spread in major national votes while voters lacked consumer-style protections against misleading political claims.
Hansard ↗ - 13 Nov 2023
Bill introduced to ban misleading election claims and impersonationPretending to be another candidate, party, campaigner, person, or organisation so voters think the message came from someone else.
Zali Steggall introduced the bill to prohibit materially misleading electoral and referendum matterCampaign material about a referendum question or proposal, which this bill would treat much like election advertising., ban deceptive impersonationPretending to be another candidate, party, campaigner, person, or organisation so voters think the message came from someone else., and give the Electoral CommissionerThe federal election official who would be able to investigate complaints, require corrections or retractions, and take serious cases to court under this bill. powers to investigate, order corrections and seek penalties.
Parliamentary timeline ↗ - 02 July 2024
Bill is removed from the Notice PaperThe parliamentary list of bills and business to be considered; being removed from it meant this bill stopped progressing.
The bill was removed from the Notice PaperThe parliamentary list of bills and business to be considered; being removed from it meant this bill stopped progressing. under standing order 42, ending its active progress in Parliament without the proposed protections becoming law.
Parliamentary timeline ↗
Legislative route
How did it move through Parliament?
House Senate
Introduced 13 Nov 2023
The bill was formally presented to the chamber and read a first time, which starts its parliamentary journey.
Introduced and read a first time
Second reading opened 13 Nov 2023
A minister or sponsoring member moved the second reading, opening the main debate on the bill's purpose and principles.
Second reading moved
Removed from the Notice PaperThe parliamentary list of bills and business to be considered; being removed from it meant this bill stopped progressing. in accordance with (SO 42) 02 July 2024
The bill reached this recorded parliamentary step.
Key criticism
The main case against this bill
No significant public case against the bill is recorded so far, and the available debate material instead frames it as a targeted response to false factual claims and impersonationPretending to be another candidate, party, campaigner, person, or organisation so voters think the message came from someone else. in political advertising. in publicly available sources reviewed, no party represented in the debate opposed the bill, so any unresolved concerns are not clearly developed beyond ordinary implementation and enforcement questions.
No significant public case against the bill is recorded so far.
Votes
Recorded votes
No recorded votes were found before this bill stopped proceeding.
Parliamentary debate
Who spoke, and what they said
Start here — lead voices
Lead non-major voice Supports
Kate Chaney
Chaney supports the bill and says voters need protection from lies in political advertising, arguing that truth in political ads is fundamental to democracy.
Read in Hansard ↗All speeches by bloc
Minor parties and independents
2 speakers · 2 support
Minor parties and independents
2 speakers · 2 support
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Zali Steggall ★ Steggall supports the bill and says it is a practical way to stop misleading political advertising, including deep fakes and other deceptive claims.
“So I urge the members in this place to debate, vote and think about the standards you are prepared to accept and endorse. Will you protect Australian voters and give their democratic rights the same protections we give their consumer rights? It's time to raise the bar.”
Read the full speech in Hansard ↗ -
Kate Chaney ★ Chaney supports the bill and says voters need protection from lies in political advertising, arguing that truth in political ads is fundamental to democracy.
“I second this bill introduced by the member for Warringah and commend her for the hard work she's done in this area over several years. We've seen a steady decline over 20 years in voter satisfaction with democracy, trust in government and political efficacy. Liberal democracies around the world face significant challenges as lies in political advertising have become more shameless and their delivery more sophisticated. We saw this in the referendum debate but we've seen scare campaigns before from both sides of politics, such as those involving Medicare and death taxes.”
Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
Record
Full record
- Status
- Not Proceeding -- Collected from the APH bill page.
- Originating house
- House of Representatives
- 13 Nov 2023
House · Introduced and read a first time
Introduced
The bill was formally presented to the chamber and read a first time, which starts its parliamentary journey.
- 13 Nov 2023
House · Second reading moved
Second reading opened
A minister or sponsoring member moved the second reading, opening the main debate on the bill's purpose and principles.
- 02 July 2024
House · Removed from the Notice Paper in accordance with (SO 42)
Removed from the Notice PaperThe parliamentary list of bills and business to be considered; being removed from it meant this bill stopped progressing. in accordance with (SO 42)
The bill reached this recorded parliamentary step.